VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City Hi-Liners boys basketball team lead at halftime and for basically the entire game on Tuesday night, except for the final 24 seconds. Fargo South survives the scare from the Hi-Liners and wins this one 69-64.

The night started off great for Valley City. They were dictating the pace of place, and despite the size mismatch, really holding their own especially underneath the basket. Hi-Liners came out shooting in this one, as Adam Bitz once again had another great night from beyond the arc. He finished with 4 triples in this one, and 16-points. With shooting like that, Valley City lead at the break 39-31.

In the second half, Valley City had to fend off a quick attack as the Bruins quickly cut the Hi-Liners lead to just 3. However, Bitz would hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead for his team. Valley City did a good job of this for the most part on this night, where they would see their lead dwindle, only to hit a clutch 3-pointer to jump start their offense and take back momentum. Fargo South would whether the storm and two of their players would take over the game down the stretch in the second half. James Harrison and Cole Kegbeh each would compliment each other as they would cut down the Valley City lead. Both players adding big shots and doing an excellent job of keeping possessions alive by gathering offensive boards. One of the biggest factors in the second half for the Bruins was the free throw shooting of Kegbeh, who made four free throws in the second half. With the game tied at 64-64, Kegbeh made a free throw to give his team a 1-point lead with just 24 seconds left. While the Hi-Liners were setting up their situation on the Bruins end of the court, Diamond McGill would poke the ball free from a Hi-Liner with just seconds remaining. The ball made its way to Kolby Jones who would be fouled. Up to this point Jones was held scoreless, and with only two seconds remaining he would sink both free throws to give the Bruins the 67-64 lead. On the ensuing inbounds pass for the Hi-Liners, Kegbeh would steal the pass and lay it in right before the buzzer to give Fargo South the 69-64 win.

With the loss, the Hi-Liners fall to 0-6 on the season. The team will now be off for the holiday break and will return to action next Tuesday night when they return to the Hi-Liner Activity Center to take on Shanley at 7:15PM, and that game can be heard on KOVC.

Valley City Leaders

Adam Bitz 16 points 3 rebounds

Robert Fischer 11 points 3 rebounds

Zach Sykora 9 points 3 rebounds

Fargo South Leaders

Cole Kegbeh 19 points 8 rebounds

James Hamilton 16 points 10 rebounds

William Lacher 14 points 4 rebounds